We head deeper into the second half of the session with the market struggling to hold onto to any positive momentum. We headed into the afternoon with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) posting a gain of just over 200 points. However, as the chart below shows, a ruthlessly steady bout of selling pressure then hit the tape.
A look to the sector view shows that selling pressure is being felt in many areas. The Broker/Dealer Index (XBD) and PowerShares Clean Energy ETF (PBW) are the two weakest areas with losses of 3%. The Semiconductor HOLDRS (SMH) and Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH) are also relatively weak. The lone holdouts in positive territory are the iShares Treasury Bond (TLT), AMEX Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) and Oil & Gas Index (XOI).
This midday reversal is somewhat disappointing. As I noted last night, we headed into today with the broad market indices precariously perched on support. A bounce here would give us a bit of breathing room relative to the recent lows.
Chart Courtesy of Thomson Financial
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